Chapo Guzmán's escape, a work of high engineering

Those of us who have directed a work of topography for tunnels, we are aware of the complexity of this discipline, the fatality that represents a second of inaccuracy in 1,500 meters and all the security measures that must be taken.

Between the penitentiary of El Altiplano and the property where the property is located in black building, where the tunnel through which Joaquín Guzmán Loera escaped, there is a mirror of water that forced the builders to excavate up to 30 meters deep.

Sources close to the investigations explained that the tunnel built for the flight of the leader of the Pacific Cartel is not a "straight line", between the prison and the building with the exit gap, but has undulations that allowed the builders to free Some irregularities in the field.

In addition to engineers, other specialists such as surveyors and geologists participated in the construction of the underground work to know the characteristics of the terrain and not to face major risks.

The investigations carried out by the experts of the Criminal Investigation Agency (AIC) have made it possible to know that the terrain of the area is mainly made up of tepetate.

In addition, most of the tunnel was built using the "dome" technique which allows for greater strength, and only in a few sections was it necessary to place a frame to support the walls.

Other details revealed that the entrance to the tunnel, from the cell of El Chapo, the 20 number of the 2 corridor of the Special Treatments Center, is approximately ten meters deep and has a wooden staircase to reach the background.

On the other hand, the exit gap to the property in Colonia Santa Juanita is seven meters, where there is also a staircase to exit.

But at this end of the tunnel is also installed the mechanical pulley which, with the support of an electric motor, the researchers believe that the earth was removed for the construction of the passage and the same mechanism would have been used to remove the capo towards freedom.

The measurement work carried out by the PGR experts has established that along the 1.5 kilometers distance, in some points, the tunnel reaches depths of ten, 15 and 30 meters maximum, under the body of water.

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It is a pity that such a work of engineering is part of a whole strategy of corruption and complicity, without which it would not have been possible to go unnoticed.

At first glance, nothing makes us suspect that this concrete and black building became the center of this meticulous operation that allowed the leader of the Sinaloa cartel to escape from his Altiplano I jail cell in the municipality of Almoloya Central Mexico State.
The construction consists of a house with some bedrooms and a sort of warehouse, from where you enter this tunnel that reaches more than ten meters deep and Stretches 1,5 miles to arrive, with a millimeter perfection, to the shower (shower) of the cell where the capo was held after his arrest in February 2014.
In this precarious shed, with an aluminum roof from where the water seeps, there is a gap in one of the walls that points directly to the prison.
It is not difficult to imagine the henchmen of the capo watching over any movement of the prison and, in turn, coveting day after day a successful end to this work of engineering that, Due to its complexity, should have involved architects, geologists and engineers.
Although currently fifty investigators of the Mexican Attorney's Office work in the area looking for any additional clue, a visit to the place allows to obtain details, minima but showy, of the orchestrated escape operation.
In the cellar and attached to the access to the tunnel, there is a wheelbarrow with earth and a radial, the only visible references to the thousands of cubic meters of material that had to be removed during these months.

A mystery, what happened to the tons of land that they pulled out of the tunnel and that the neighbors say they have not seen, like so many others in this case that has angered public opinion is still unresolved.
The wheelbarrow, along with several half-finished drinks, suggest that the capo's getaway, which took place at the 20.52 local time (01.52 GMT) of the July 11, was being built until the last minute and was the second time Guzman escapes from a penalty of maximum Mexican security.
In addition, the store houses several wooden poles (bars), probably used to support the drilling, in addition to a hole in the ground that was used for ventilation.
Already underground, there is a first space about two meters deep, about fifteen square meters, which served as an anteroom to the narrow tunnel built and is full of bars of wood and a large generator of light, With capacity to light the extensive work.
In addition, an electric pulley that, as reported to Efe members of the public prosecutor's office present during the visit organized to the media, was used to remove the excavated earth from the tunnel that begins a dozen meters below.
After descending a dozen wooden steps from a narrow staircase, this tunnel begins, which is undoubtedly already part of the collective imagination of the country.
Approximately one meter seventy in height and almost one meter wide, it has ventilation pipes and electrical installation and it is possible to appreciate the light bulbs that served to illuminate the darkness of this conduit.
It surprises the installation, because despite being underground, at least in the first few meters that opened to the visit, the air is still breathed fresh once turned on the ventilation system.

At the beginning of the tunnel, whose dirt walls are torn between the fingers and alert of the fragility of the work, you can see the already famous motorcycle that the capo presumably used to flee quickly after escaping through the 50 hole by 50 centimeters Open in his cell.
To this same vehicle, Italika brand, with an extra tank of gasoline half loaded on top, were coupled two carts that were used to remove the earth more easily, and in a corner of this tiny space also a small Forklift still with several mobile batteries.
In addition to giving details on this millimeter escape operation, the visit to the tunnel also gives anecdotes.
For example, On the long hours that the employees of this work - it is estimated that the size of the conduit could not be more than two digging and two supporting from the entrance - passed underground.
At the bottom of the staircase leading into the tunnel, on a piece of wall, two drawings and a blue print, and several doodles in red, are surprising.
A cross with the acronym INRI, a caricature of a man with sunglasses and long mustaches and the phrase "Lo Berde es Bida, bastards pure weed (marijuana)".
Although probably the result of boredom, these drawings can acquire another dimension in this great story in installments that is the escape of "El Chapo".
An event that has put in check the current government of Enrique Peña Nieto, evidencing the corruption of the system and damaging its international image. And that has already marked the country forever.